Had to go see Dr. Rawson today, lucky for me I was on my way back from Windsor. My "orthotic" was coming loose on the right side, probably from me playing with it.. but either way, he made some adjustments. Now I have a headache and pain in my right jaw.. fun

NO relief from ANY of the ear problems. I am starting to wonder if I "made this" into TMJ. I mean, my jaw pains were never THAT bad. The headaches are never constant. I stopped chewing gum, and when I tried to chew again it did hurt.. but maybe that is because I am not used to chewing it anymore.

All I really have when you take it all away is an ear that gets FULL when it's exposed to noise. An ear that clicks when people talk to me, or when I am on the phone or watching TV. An ear that is sensitive to noises that NEVER used to bother me. An ear that sometimes itches deep down inside, or goes into "spasm". An ear that is preventing me from living my "young adult" years to the fullest!

Basically, I have an ear that will eventually make me go crazy, if I haven't already reached that destination.

Jamie,
Sad enough I know what you are going through. This is going to be a long post so just sit back and relax....

First off I have had, "ear problems" since I was a little baby. I had an ear infection or just plain ache every week. I had tubed inserted in my ear which I am not sure helped any. Those were left in believe-it-or-not for like 5 years (longer than normal).
I can not stand to be around loud noises because of the sensitivity!! I don't have the earaches as much but let me tell you I have TMJ/JAW AREA PAIN every day. It is not super bad but it get's to me. It is like a dull radiating pain. I have to go to a TMJ dentist and figure out what's wrong with me.

After repeated bouts of ear pain, I got recommended to an Ear,Nose,& Throat specialist, who has yet done nothing for me. He told me to get an X-ray of my jaw and to get a splint made. I have yet done both! I know what your ear feels like and I honestly don't know if they can do any-thing to help it. It is also my fault for letting it go this long! My doctor first told me I had it about 4 years ago and I didn't understand it at all. Being at the dentist was super hard for me, I can barely last 10min. with my mouth open wide. Has your doctor done any pressure tests? I had them done 3 times and I don't know the outcome. I do know one thing my ENT told me: I have 1 abnormal ear drum and bad pressure reading on the other?? I hope this helps you!

I've actually posted this once before, but wanted to post this description of myoclonus once again, (I have put it at the bottom of this message) as it sounds so like what you're going through. If you read it carefully you 'll notice that the people who've written this article mention that people who have it often have tempero mandibular joint problems - they say 'Frequently a history of muscle spasm with occipital headaches or temporomandibular joint pain can be obtained.' Also, they don't mention any other underlying reason for it, so I don't think the ENT's you've seen have missed anything. They also say that it does eventually resolve itself. Believe me, I understand what you're going through - have experienced some of these things, and yes, they're depressing, but they are also made much, much worse by stressing over them. Also, although I truly believe you will be rid of your symptoms, but you will require patience. Splint therapy rarely works in 5 minutes - your muscles are strained, and strained muscles need time to rest, that's what your splint is doing. If you pulled an arm muscle very, very badly and it was put in a sling, would you expect it to be better in 3 days?No. Would it bother you? Not as much as this because you'd be able to see why it had happened, and trust it would get better. Because this is your ears, it feels much scarier, and it's harder to grasp that your muscles are strained inside an ear.

I think you are made most upset by the idea that this isn't caused by tmj, or that there is a reason for your problems out there that are not tmj induced and which, if discovered, would throw up a cure. As, what you describe, sounds so like a muscular spasm problem in your ears - YOU WILL GET BETTER - but it really doesn't sound like there is a quick fix, or a drug that would instantly cure this, even if it turned out not to be tmj related. When I had a similiar problem to you - a violent vibration in the ears that reacted to sound - I did get some relief from a very, very low dose of valium, (valium acts as a muscle relaxant) which I only took when it was very bad. Valium is highly addictive, you want to use it sparingly. I also learned that the more I stressed (and boy did it send me nuts for a while) the worse it got - a spasming muscle reacts very badly to tension in the body. I learned that I could control the symptom to a degree by making a massive effort of will to relax, breath deeply, not let the scarey symptom make me tense up. Once I no longer allowed myself to freak out, the symptom started to get much more manageable and to ease up in intensity. I get it much less now and when I do it's much less severe. I have also been using a splint for 4 months - everyone is different, you could see results sooner, but it was at about 4 months that I started to see a real difference.

You will get better Jamie, you have to trust in that, but it will require you to be patient and also not to stress too much over it.

Here's the article I was talking about, it really is worth reading carefully.

TINNITUS
Current Evaluation and Management
Written By

D. Scott Fortune MD
David S. Haynes MD
Jay W. Hall III PhD

Neurologic Disorders
Neurologic disorders that cause objective tinnitus include palatomyoclonus and idiopathic stapedial muscle spasm. Palatomyoclonus is characterized by an irregular clicking sound within the ear. The myoclonus is rapid with a rate between 40 and 200 beats/min and occurs intermittently. The sound is generated by the mucous membranes of the eustachian tube snapping together as the palatal musculature undergoes myoclonic contractions. Patients may also complain of aural fullness, hearing loss, or sound distortion. Symptoms are worsened by stress. Frequently a history of muscle spasm with occipital headaches or temporomandibular joint pain can be obtained. The diagnosis can be made on physical examination by listening for the noise with a Toynbee tube or viewing myoclonic jerks in the palate. Tympanometry can occasionally record movement synchronous with the palatal contractions. Rarely, electromyography of the palate is indicated to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Treatment of palatomyoclonus is medical. Antispasmodic agents and muscle relaxants, such as clonazepam or diazepam, are the mainstay of treatment. Neurologic consultation is useful for long-term management of these patients.

Idiopathic stapedial muscle spasm creates a rough, crackling, rumbling noise in the ear. External sounds, such as music tones, water faucets, and voices, are known to accentuate the spasms. Physical examination reveals a normal tympanic membrane with rhythmic contractions synchronous with the noise. History and physical examination are sufficient for diagnosis. The disease is usually self-limited and remits with time; reassurance is often sufficient.

I am not seeing anyone for my depression. My doctor wanted to put me on Effexor, but I refused.

I am 23 year old (24 next week!) and I don't want to be taking SSRI's. I tried paxil a couple years ago, and if the sexual side effects weren't reason enough to not take it, the fact that I felt wired and dependant was enough.

I only took it for a month and a bit, but when I stopped taking it I felt even worse for awhile.

The longer your body depends on those drugs, good luck getting off of them. I bet heroin is easier to kick.

God only knows what SSRI's are doing to your kidney's and liver. For me, there isn't enough proof that these drugs are safe in the long run. We'll find out soon enough, because doctor's are handing out SSRI's to everyone these days.

Doctors are like IT guys. When you don't want to spend the time to find the problem, you just tell the person "It's a problem with Windows" and leave it at that. When a doctor has no idea, or doesn't want to bother with you.. he gives you happy pills.

That's the way I see it anyways. No offence to people here are who on this stuff and it's working. I am glad it works for you, and I am sure you all did the pro's/con's. For me.. the con's outweigh the pro's.

jamie - i dont necessarily mean taking medication for depression, but maybe you could try st. john's wort instead, if you're more into the herbal stuff. i took it for a little bit, but didnt notice any difference.. i probably didnt take it long enough in order for it to affect the neurotransmitters, tho.

im 22, and i know what you mean about side effects. when i was taking a low dose of amitriptyline [it's a tricyclic antidepressant not a SSRI] to help with sleeping, i had some rather unpleasant side effects that a young person doesnt want to have. heh.

anyway, what about cognitive-behaviour therapy? i know it's difficult to talk [at least, that's my problem], but those types of therapists can give you 'tools' to help with positive thinking and whatnot. i just hate to see you depressed and sad.. but i can completely relate.

Hang in there whenever I had an adjustment the pain can
become worse temporarily.. I don't know if your splint is
a jaw repositioning one or not but if it is, It can cause
pain with the adjustments, this should subside in a few days if not you should go back and get another adjustment/and or check up by your dentist

I am home "sick" today, not sure if it's from my orthotic. I feel flu like, and I know something is going around. Mix that in with the headache I have from my jaw, and the constant ear pain I am experiencing.. it makes for a crappy day.

I just woke up, fell asleep watching Wayne's World on TV! hehe.. unfortunatly, I have been getting paged every hour from work which sucks, but that's life when your the only one.

Saarah, your in Hamilton right? Do you shop @ Jogger or Campus Crew? If so, let me know. I work for their Head Office and I can hook you up with a "customer appreciation" deal

Jamie:
Not to be rude or anything because I know you don't have to reply but I wrote you my symptoms and to this point you have said nada. Do you have any that I have by any mean?? After I wrote that you even put more depresses. Just give it some time and hopefully it cfan take away some of your symptoms.